India’s exports grew 4.48% in February to $25.8 billion and led to narrowing of the trade deficit to $12 billion, official data showed on Thursday. Though exports in eighteen out of 30 sectors grew, outbound shipments of traditional industries like gems and jewellery, readymade garments and carpets declined.

Import growth outpaced that of exports despite the contraction in imports of gold and transport equipment. A 17% decline in gold imports last month aided a slower growth in imports at 10.4% compared with 26% rise in January. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW DELHI: The US’ decision to challenge Indian export subsidy schemes at World Trade Organisation (WTO) is an area of grave concern for domestic traders and the government should phase out these incentives, FIEO today said.

US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer has announced that America has requested dispute settlement consultations with India at WTO challenging Indian export subsidy programmes.

“It is a huge concern for export sector and the industry feels that the so called export subsidies should be eliminated gradually,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai told . Read the rest of this entry »

New Delhi: Indian merchants selling goods to international markets through Amazon’s Global Selling Programme (GSP) have seen 224 per cent growth last year, the US-based company said today. The company, which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership in India with SoftBank-backed Flipkart, said more than 32,000 sellers in India are shipping over 90 million products to customers in countries like the US, Mexico, Spain and Japan. “India is in a unique position where sellers are seeing growth in their business, whether they serve domestic or international markets (through GSP)…,” Amazon India GM and Director (Seller Services) Gopal Pillai told reporters here.

New Delhi: The World Bank on Wednesday projected India’s GDP growth at 7.3 per cent for the next financial year and accelerate further to 7.5 per cent in 2019-20.

The World Bank’s biannual publication, India Development Update: India’s Growth Story, expects the economy to clock a growth rate of 6.7 per cent in the current financial year ending March 31.

The report, however, observed that a growth of over 8 per cent will require “continued reform and a widening of their scope” aimed at resolving issues related to credit and investment, and enhancing competitiveness of exports.

Road infrastructure companies are headed for a brighter future, given the surge in order inflow. IRB Infrastructure bagged two Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects in Tamil Nadu worth Rs 34.9 billion on Wednesday. Dilip Buildcon, Sadbhav Infrastructure Projects, KNR Constructions and Ashoka Buildcon have also seen good order inflow.

Though the first nine months (April-November) of 2017-18 saw muted order book growth, there has since been a spurt in theses from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and other government projects. Most big construction entities surpassed their FY17 orders in the first 11 months of FY18, say analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities.

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet today cleared a double taxation avoidance agreement between India and Iran which will promote investment flow and curb tax evasion.

The agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income between India and Iran was approved by the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official statement said.